Reports: Lieberman Likely To Keep His Chair

The entire Democratic Senate caucus will gather tomorrow to vote on whether Joe Lieberman should keep his position as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Sources tell MSNBC the vote will go his way:

According to sources familiar with negotiations, Democrats are expected to vote in favor of letting the Connecticut senator keep his chairmanship and seniority, but give up the gavel on a subcommittee he chairs. The vote happens tomorrow morning by secret ballot.

The tide turned in Lieberman's favor, sources say, after two events in recent weeks. First, President-elect Obama told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he wanted Lieberman to stay in the Democratic caucus. Later, in a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Lieberman told him it would be "unacceptable" for him to give up his gavel. That was considered by some as a veiled threat that Lieberman would jump to caucus with Republicans if he was forced to give up the gavel.

Obama tipped the scales in Lieberman's favor, one source said. The source essentially explained it like this: If the wrath was directed at Obama and got over it, shouldn't the Democratic caucus do the same?

CQ Politics adds:

Despite campaigning for the Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has "significant support" from the caucus, ally Ken Salazar said Monday.

"I think he will be a force of good in supporting an Obama administration," said Salazar, D-Colo. He is part of a four-member whip team tasked with talking to other members of the caucus to find out what, if any, punishment Lieberman deserves for supporting Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and campaigning against President-elect Barack Obama.

...

Some senators say they will defer to their party leaders.

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"I'll follow the leadership position and President-elect Obama's recommendation," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md. "Send a message, but don't pick a big fight within the family."

On the other hand, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a close ally of Lieberman's, says the Senator should pay consequences:

"There need to be consequences, and they cannot be insignificant," Carper said in a Monday interview with The Hill.

...

Carper said he and three other Senate Democrats have been making phone calls to "take the temperature of our caucus." He said the purpose of the calls was not to lobby senators for any particular action for or against Lieberman, but "just to see where people's hearts and their minds are."

Carper said that "many of my colleagues ... are very angry with his criticism of Sen. Obama," but he would not say which sanctions he prefers.

Comments

[LWkcma]

JUCK FOE

[suemag]

and the moose he rode in on!

[Beninn]

Start calling Obama's Chicago transition offices and tell them this isn't the change that you funded with your donations of money and time and shoe leather.

If you wanted the DLC in power, you would have voted for Hillary. If you wanted an Independent chairing a committee in a Democratically controlled Senate, it would be Bernie Sanders.

Obama's Transition Offices at John C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building
230 South Dearborn Street, Suite 3900 (39th floor)
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: [phone]
Toll Free: 866-445-2520 (IL only)
Fax: [phone]

[Omidal]

It is not OBAMA's decision to make. He can have a say in it, but he does not run the senate. Now that he is(almost) in the executive branch, he must be careful not overextend his power on the other branch of the government.

[Beninn]

Democrats in the Senate say Obama has made an appeal and they are inclined to follow it. Bill Clinton has been calling senators, too, arguing on Lieberman's behalf. As President-elect, Obama is the head of the party, and Democratic senators seem all too keen to dance to his tune.

If Obama's offices were flooded with phone calls and he told the senate to get rid of Lieberman, I bet they would do it.

[lakeqi]

I hope that they let Lieberman keep his chair- that way when people ask me why I can't stand democrats and why I voted for Mckinney instead of Obama, I no longer have to think about or remember all of the betrayals and spineless sell outs, its all crystallized right down and into this one issue. This will be all I have to remember or say about how unworthy the democrats are of my support.

[SOLERSO68]

Wow , apparently the rush limabaugh (aka uncle fester) trolls are deeply concerened about joe lieberman i did not know they disliked him so much. o wait minute! i get it now...you sly boots ; ) i bet this will be as succesful as that historic watershed in right wing electioneering , the mighty "operation chaos". LOL

[R1Rider]

So by your logic, you condone LIEberman's backstabbing of the democratic party, and support him for supporting Mccain. Brilliant!

[batspaul]

The Democratic leadership in the House and Senate seem to have mistaken the big Nov. 4 win as an endorsement of their spinelessness of the last two years, instead of the call for change that it truly is.

How can they not get that Lieberman should be removed? What would he actually have to do? I mean, really? What? He campaigned for the Republican ticket in an election where the choice, to anyone paying attention, in terms of values, could not have been more extreme.

There is a reason the majority party makes these appointments. The voters have spoken, and the rejection of Lieberman's views could not be more clear. If Lieberman is not removed tomorrow, then it will be time to focus on replacing Reid.

[mitaka]

Yeah, I think Obama is draining his political capital pretty fast, even before moving into the WH. That's quite pathetic. I think the progressives need to start using the whip at once or come 2011, there will be a serious surge from the Green Party.

[winnie47]

That's change I can believe in!

[R1Rider]

Very nice! The dems not only forgive treason and betrayal, they reward it! LIEberman is laughing all the way to the bank. Thank goodness for the "change" we voted for!

[miriada]

very dissapointing... how can they reward such a character? you know what always keeps afloat and never sinks? right - it's sh-t. He lost my respect long ago.

[davism97]

President Obama might be making the right choice here. It's hard to see now with passions still so high from the election, but have a little faith in Obama's judgement. Unlike W, Obama genuinley thinks things through. Obama is eliminating an enemy by making him his friend.

[skibiketrash]

This man will never be a friend. Once a backstabber, always a backstabber. Let him go to the red side. Spineless democrats. Looks more and more like GWB and his kind are going to get away with everything and leave PE Obama holding the bag. Dump Reid I say!!!!

[vinny]

bOO Reid!!!

[Beninn]

Start calling Obama's Chicago transition offices and tell them this isn't the change that you funded with your donations of money and time and shoe leather.

If you wanted the DLC in power, you would have voted for Hillary. If you wanted an Independent chairing a committee in a Democratically controlled Senate, it would be Bernie Sanders.

[suemag]

Or: change.gov

[George Whizz]

This could finally bring about a three party system, Republicans, Liebercrats, and Greens. I sadly put my money on Republicans in 2010.

[Zhonni]

He needs to lose his Chairmanship. It is not about revenge; it is the right thing to do.

[Sabreen60]

In order for 0ba-ma to get legislation passed he'll need at least 60 votes. So far there are not 60 Democratic Senators. It's a numbers game. If L!eberman is totally kicked to the curb, the Dems lose. So of you need to grow up and study political science.

[lakeqi]

Do you really think that the republicans are gonna fillibuster EVERY issue or that Obama can keep 60 dems together. HAH! The dems couldnt even get 40 to stay together to filibuster Alito or anything else. And you tell people to study poli-sci. Let me guess, you're a freshman at a community college who is currently enrolled in poli sci 101.

[batspaul]

No, Miss Einstein, that is not actually the case. Legislation can be passed, has been passed, and will be passed by a simple majority. You are referring to the number of votes needed to stop a filibuster.

This is not about kicking Lieberman to the curb. This is mere practicality. He has not been an effective committee chairman. He has shown that he will vote as he wishes and support whom he wishes without regard for the goals, principles, or strength of the Democratic Party. He's going to do what he wants anyway. Why waste a chairmanship on him?

The man actively, vehemently, and unscrupulously campaigned for the ticket of the opposition party, taking the low road as often as not. Does any adult believe that he will suddenly fall in line when rewarded with continuation of his perks and seniority? It is you who need to grow up, dear.

[eden4barack08]

Not necessarily. 60 Dems doesn't mean they all vote party line all the time. Sometimes it's easier to reach that 60 by adding some moderate Republicans, than it is to count on some blue dogs. Besides, do we really want to give Joe the Traitor the power of being #60? He was #51 in the 110th, and we saw how he milked that already. We don't need Joe!

[vinny]

you grow up... you study political science!

[billsmile]

Do the people of Connecticut know that any emails they send to Senator Lieberman go directly into his "trash" folder???

I'm guessing this is true since my Senator has not once voted the way I've, so often, encouraged him to do. Nor has he kept any of the campaign promises that he was asked to follow through on.

Okay, to be honest, sometimes a letter of an email response will come from my Senator. Half of the time the responses have nothing to do with the topic he was originally contacted about.

One time a thick envelope arrived containing pages and pages of U.N. violations that Iran was guilty of. Senator Lieberman was so nice to collect all of these violations all together and print them for me. I hadn't contacted him about Iran but he must have thought it important anyway.

I don't think that Senator Lieberman has the time to chair the Homeland Security Committee, he's pretty busy working for the people of Connecticut.

[suemag]

So true! But Joe's an "Independent democrat", whatever the hell that is?! Just an excuse to vote the way he wants, irregardless of what his constituents want.

[SCG]

Try to get a response from his office. Dodd will send a reply.

[Beninn]

The corporate media and even progressive Internet sites are holding out the possibility that the Democrats, with three undecided senate races, may still reach the magical number of 60 Dems in the Senate to attain a "filibuster proof" majority.

There's only one problem with this universally-held assumption that 60 Democratic votes would give them the power to stop obstructive and destructive Republican filibusters: it's wrong.

Sometimes math triumphs common sense and this is one case that illustrates this. Yes, technically with 60 votes, the Democrats could prevent ongoing GOP filibusters to prevent America from progressing forward. But there is a difference between a technical threshold and the reality of how Democratic senators vote.

Take the infamous Benedict Arnold Joe Lieberman. He's included in that 60 threshold, and whether he remains in or out of the Democratic caucus, he is not going to vote the party line depending upon his whim. And then you have the Ben Nelsons of Nebraska, Max Baucuses of Montana, Evan Bayhs of Indiana, and Blanche Lincolns of Arkansas, for example, who often desert the majority of Democrats on key votes where they want to be aligned with the mythical "center."

Read more of "The Myth of the Democratic Filibuster Proof Senate" -

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/143

[ricitizen]

You are right. If we get lucky and get all three of the outstanding seats, it doesn't guarantee a "filibuster proof" majority. But we have the two moderates Republican Senators from Maine. We have others like McCain who would help on issues like climate change and energy. And getting as many seats as possible is at least backup for maintaining control as we might lose seats in 2010/2011. But in any case, it's hard to be strategic about letting Lieberman remain in the caucus and keeping his chairmanship on Home Land Security. There has to be some consequence for being such and S.O.B. Obama backed in Lieberman's run for the Senate. Lieberman crossed the line. Even mobsters, who lie, cheat, and steal have a code that you don't speak ill about the family in public. Did you see the convention? No...every time I think about it I say...no, no...Lieberman has to GO!

[Beninn]

Susan Collins sat with Lieberman on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as the ranking member and helped him bury investigations into the Bush administration's inept response to Hurricane Katrina, and secret no-bid contracts awarded to cronies.

Colins and Olympia Snowe were both members, along with Lieberman, of the Gang of 14 that threatened use of the nuclear option against the Democrats, and helped rightwing judicial nominees through confirmation.

The GOP can and have relied on the loyalty of Collins and Snowe.

[eden4barack08]

"I'll follow the leadership position and President-elect Obama's recommendation,"

Folks, this is BS!!! Don't you believe it for one minute! There are no recommendations from Obama. They're trying to say that Obama wants to forgive the Judas, and yes that may be true. We know our PE is magnanimous, but nowhere has he said he wants him to keep the chairmanship! Think about this, if Obama was not just being diplomatic, wouldn't he have shown us, by maybe having a public meeting, or a public support for Joe?? The cowardly Senators are just using Obama's magnanimity, to justify their spineless defense of a traitor! As if they're doing this for him! Bull!!!! They're not! Please people, keep calling them all day today, and emailing. Threaten to vote them out the next election if necessary. We cannot allow this! the party is ours more than ever now! Thanks to Obama, we're no longer just a disengaged public. Our grassroots organization got Obama/Biden and an increased Democratic majority elected. They MUST listen to us!
Please use this easy tool from Firedoglake to contact the Senators :

http://tools.advomatic.com/7/kickjoe

Please, do not give up until the vote tomorrow. Let's keep fighting 'till the last minute. This is what Obama means when he says he cannot change Washington without our help!

[blue ocean55]

Are you trying to tell me that Obama has absolutley no influence in this matter? By all accounts, Reid was leaning towards stripping Lieberman of the chairmanship until he received a phone call from the PE. And to suggest that this is simply a Senate matter... Obama is the leader of the Democratic Party. If he wanted Lieberman to stay in the caucus while losing his Chairmanship, that's what would likely happen.

I haven't given up on the PE, but you Obama apologists are frighteningly loyal.

[3worldusa]

SUCKING UP TO AIPAC IS NOT CHANGE.